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Jack Graham out as Colorado State athletic director

Morris to take over in interim

Colorado State announced Thursday that athletic director Jack Graham had been released of his duties by CSU President Tony Frank. (Helen H. Richardson / THE DENVER POST)

FORT COLLINS — In a stunning announcement Friday, Colorado State said in a release that athletic director Jack Graham has been dismissed from his duties by CSU President Tony Frank. No specific reason was given, though it is voiced in the statement their vision on progressing forward had started to differ.

"I have elected to terminate Jack Graham's employment as athletic director," Frank said in a statement issued by the university. "While I am grateful to Jack for the energy he's brought to CSU in establishing a culture that expects excellence within Ram athletics and his actions in hiring great coaches and staff, there have come to exist some substantial differences in our views. Based on our differences, I have chosen to exercise the termination for convenience clause within Jack's contract to allow the university and the athletic department to move forward, building on the successes that Jack brought to our program. As a personnel issue, this will be the university's only comment on this personnel action."

Frank is in Pueblo for the Board of Directors meeting. Deputy athletic director John Morris will serve in the athletic director's role in the interim. CSU executive director of public relations Mike Hooker could not say if Frank and Graham had met in person about the decision to terminate Graham.

The news caught many by surprise, including volleyball coach Tom Hilbert. He was appreciative of what Graham did for athletics and his program, but also stands behind any decision Frank makes.

"Jack was always very good to me and very respectful of our program," Hilbert said. "All I can tell you is he was good to us. I respect Tony Frank, and I think his vision for our university and our athletic department has been fantastic."

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Major boosters to the athletic department were also stunned. Norm Jorgensen, who is a Legacy member of the Ram Club who had donated substantial money to the stadium project, liked Graham and shared his vision for the department. He also said he couldn't disagree with the decision Frank made, saying he didn't know enough about the particulars.

"I talked to Tony Frank, and he said he couldn't really get into it, what happened, but they had some differences over the last few weeks and felt like he needed to make a change," said Jorgensen, who actually made the trip with Graham to the BCS National Championship game to bring McElwain to Fort Collins. "I don't really have any insight into that deal.

"It was a surprise, and it's a setback, that's for sure. It is for now. I thought Jack had a lot of passion and I liked him personally. He had a real passion."

Graham, a former quarterback at the school, was hired by Frank on Dec. 1, 2011, and Graham proudly proclaimed a "Bold New Era". He hired football coach Jim McElwain within a month and announced his desire to see an on-campus football stadium built. His enthusiasm and drive brought a new energy to the fan base of the university.

He connected with athletes, and even took the time to meet with potential recruits on visits, a move many said they had not experienced at other universities.

He returned to the school after a successful career in international insurance, founding ICAT Managers, which specialized in catastrophic risk insurance, and also sat on the advisory board for the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

A decision on whether to move forward with the football stadium project is expected in October, and the university said that had nothing to do with the personnel move, something Jorgensen said Frank said to him. However, Jorgensen wonders if the lack of progress in raising the necessary funding will eventually hurt the stadium issue.

"According to Tony (it won't), but this is a setback," Jorgensen said. "Everybody is going to take a step back and go, 'what's going on here.' It's a pause to ponder what the situation is here. It seemed like they were struggling, and that was pretty well known. It was an uphill climb for them."

This would have been Graham's third full year at the school and in that time he has reshaped the athletic department. Under his watch, the university signed an agreement with Under Armour, added women's soccer and dropped women's water polo from the athletic lineup and he hired basketball coaches Larry Eustachy and Ryun Williams.

The school said a national search to replace Graham will start soon, with details to be released in the coming weeks.

"Our athletic department has made great strides in the last few years, and I wholeheartedly expect that progress to continue," Frank said in the release. "This in no way diminishes our institutional commitment to excellence in athletics. We're excited about the future of our program and looking forward to a great year."

Morris was not available for comment, with a university spokesman saying his schedule was busy with the announcement. However, they did release a statement from Morris, who was hired by Graham last year.

"On behalf of the entire athletics department, I can say that we are all committed to supporting President Frank and the university during this time of transition," the statement said. "I appreciate the opportunity to serve Colorado State University as the interim Director of Athletics. CSU athletics has made great strides in the past few years, thanks in significant part to Jack Graham's vision and passion for CSU. With our outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff, in addition to the tremendous support we receive from everyone in the Rams community, we will continue to build on the strong momentum that has been created."

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